okay thankyou dirk. Wont bother to apply to EZY then.

has anyone passed the online tests and got a reply regarding interviews? i did the test 2 weeks ago , passed and waiting to hear back.

Is this a new thing or have all new entrant UK based CO-PILOTS always been forced onto a part-time 75% contract?

The problem is not with the new entrant FOs - I am told they were all being given 100% contracts. The problem lies with our current FOs who were being left on 75% contracts whilst new entrants get the good deals. That is directly contrary to our Union agreement and it is the source of great angst among our FOs. If therefore that is changing, that is exactly as it should be. I am told our Union guys are making a very big deal about this to ensure that our current FOs are not disadvantaged at the expense of new entrants. The whole 75% contract thing is really a dead loss and is so random in its application that it is largely unworkable. Like any airline, we have our problems - these 75% contracts are right at the top of that list.

Also, yes - UK sector pay is subject to full UK tax. Hope that helps.

I understand that you get 25 days leave, and if joining as a SFO the fixed roster. How does this all go together. Are you able to effectively take 5 blocks of 8/9 (5 days leave followed by your usual days off) days off pa?

Also, is there any loss of license and death in service benefit?

Many thanks

Leave is done on a closed phase where you can make a bid for what you want, followed by an open phase where you can book any remaining available leave directly through an online system. Leave can be taken as a whole block or individual days. So yes on the fixed pattern if you took 5 days you would get your 7 off days around that block. The first phase is worked on a points based system with popular days like Christmas attracting more points. The lower your points are, the higher chance you have of getting what you want.

There is LOL (which you can top up through the benefits system) and death in service benefit.

Thanks for the quick reply!
I didn't think of the days off before the block. So you get 5x 12 days off potentially every year. Thats great. On paper 25 days looks low. But this must be one, if not the best leave deal in the UK. :D
Lets hope I perform on the day

Just applied for a DEC position (NTR), I submitted my application with everything filled in and a cv attached and it said the usual "thanks, we're reviewing it and we'll be in touch" but when I clicked on "application status" it says "application unsuccessful". This happened 5 seconds after applying, considering it's nearly 11pm any ideas if this is just a glitch?

VJW, thanks for the response, no there wasn't anything asking about that, I went through it with a fine toothcomb 3 times and it all looks good, strange thing is when I go back in my application is still active and it gives me the option to edit/resubmit.

You are bonded, and money taken from your salary. How much I have no idea, sorry.

Hey guys,

Could anyone shed some light on the mental arithmetic part of the online assessment for F/O? Such as level of difficulty and best ways to practice / prepare?

Thanks !!

VC

Id very strongly advice on the latestpilotjobs interview prep package.

Hello everyone. I know it's been asked before, but how does a EZY pilot schedule look like? Those 5 days you're ON, how long is the day normally? any reserve during the month? Average days OFF per month?.

Also how stable you guys think german bases are? I'm thinking long term.

Thank you!

I would say German bases are very safe at the moment, however when (IF) BER opens some day, they will probably close SXF and TXL and consolidate them in BER. Question is if they can have all airframes based there (I wouldn't think so because of the size of things), or if they will move some airframes to other locations. - Only time can tell.

Rosters in TXL are rough at the moment due the integration with our new colleagues from Air Berlin, but hopefully this will settle when all is released to fly with each other across the board.
Rosters in SXF are very good, and the stability is generally very good as well.

Part timers have 15-18 days off pr month - easily, and full timers have 10-12. It all varies on how tactical you are with you leave.

Thanks for the info guys. I know this is how aviation works, but I've been moving non stop for 10 years and I'd like to think that my next step (or the next one haha) will be the last one. And I know that's almost impossible in this industry, but......

Easyjet UK I guess it's out of the question with all the brexit crap. So we'd basically have Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain I guess. Zero interest in Spain, I'm from there and I left 10 years ago. Politics kills me too much.

I've been reading about Portugal and how the contract/quality of life is not that good compared with other contracts. Is there any reason for it?

Switzerland. Awesome country, but I'm not sure money is that great since cost of living there is insane.

France/Italy. These are the best two contracts I assume?. How hard is to get on these if you're lucky enough to pass all the interviews?.

I read that upgrades, no matter from what base, are sent to London for a while. Will that change at all after Brexit?

I would not recommend Portugal. I've been based there flying for easyJet and it was the unhappiest place I've ever worked at. The contract is rubbish and Portugese taxes are really high. Local HR is a pain and "mistakes" on your payslip are not uncommon. They take a long time and perseverance to be rectified.

There is a base freeze indeed and some people have been kept there regardless of their expired base freeze.

My advice: stay away from easyJet Portugal at all cost.

NLP

Edit: the base freeze of 3 years was there already before easyJet paid for TR's. It's to keep pilots in the base because everybody seems to leave at the earliest opportunity. I've seen about 50% of the workforce leave in just over a year.

That doesn't sound nice at all. And I've never wanted to live there anyways. Other european countries, I'd love to :)

It is not true that you always get sent out of your base for the upgrade. The base transfer system is a transparent system, if you are willing to wait to be on top of a base list, you have total control over where you end up, even the same base where you are as a FO.

The portuguese contract has improved a lot in the last year, it is not as bad as people make it.

French/Italian/German bases are not impossible to get, but not the easiest either. The most popular bases are the big commuter bases like MXP or CDG. It might make sense to accept for a short time another base, eg LGW, and in a relatively short time another base should become available.

With RYR now bonding TR's, does anyone reckon EZY will start doing the same for non type rated FOs?

I see they will fund the type rating for someone will less than 1000 hours but what about the more experienced FOs that might not have the £25K for a type rating.

That wildly depends on your pension contributions. In order to reduce as much as possible the taxable income over 100k pounds (above which the tax rate is 60%) most of the Captains put the maximum 40k per year in their pension pot. Also depending on loyalty bonus, etc.